Unconditionally
by Anytha84
Summary: 'And now she was here. Winds billowing around her. Fitz screaming in front of her.' FitzSimmons' thoughts during episode 1x06 'Fzzt' and in the aftermath. Major spoiler warning! This is set after 'Each other's Shield': you don't have to read that to understand this but there might be some minor references here and there. R
1. Chapter 1: Jemma Simmons

** Major Spoiler Alert from episode 1x06 'Fzzt'**

Ok...Episode 1x06 just broke something in me. I never had the need to write down a story that's in my head as this time. It should be in 2 chapters and will have a sequel/s. Major Spoiler Alert from episode 1x06 'Fzzt'

I blame Katy Perry's 'Unconditionally' on this one too. Before episode 6, I had a FitzSimmons fic in mind that took inspiration from the song but afterwards, it became this fiction's soundtrack. Thus the reason of the title. I added the lyrics because it inspired this chapter.

Hope you guys like it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Agents of Shield.

* * *

_**Unconditionally**_

_Chapter 1: Jemma Simmons._

-:-

Oh no, did I get too close?  
Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?  
All your insecurities  
All the dirty laundry  
Never made me blink one time

Unconditional, unconditionally  
I will love you unconditionally  
There is no fear now  
Let go and just be free  
I will love you unconditionally

-:-

The wind was howling: it was so strong that it shifted her slightly. The sky was speeding beneath and above her. It was clear and blue, the sort of sky that she loved but now, as she stood at the edge of the cargo ramp, nothing seemed more terrifying.

'Do it..' she convinced herself, fighting the overwhelming fear, 'It's for the best. It's for everyone. It's for-'

"JEMMA!"

She heard him. How, she couldn't understand, but she heard him. And she turned around.

The moment she did, she wished she hadn't.

Fitz was tugging on the lab's doors(_Our lab.. Was it only yesterday that she said that?_) and was screaming. He was screaming her name. His face was contorted in desperation.

She felt tears run down her face.

'Leo...'

He had been her rock during these hours. Never giving up, always standing there outside the lab and talking to her, helping her. Seeing him being so strong allowed her not to give up and be strong herself, despite the fear bubbling inside her.

When Agent Coulson had told the team of her infection, Fitz had looked at her, eyes widening but he didn't say anything. She saw the flash of fear in his eyes. Fear for her.

But the flash was instantaneous and was replaced by his usual calm. He walked to the doors and started to talk about the resolution of their current problem. He smiled at her, a smile of comfort and didn't mention the stakes.

It was odd at first. The glass panel divided them, each on a side. There wasn't any contact: no shoulders brushing, warm breaths on the cheek as they talked or simply breathed close to one another.

She told him that they needed a delivery mechanism and he set to work immediately, asking her to give him his tools. The moment he had them, he turned around and sat down. There on the spot, right outside the door. She watched him for a second before turning and sitting down herself, right behind him, their shoulders touching the same space on the glass panel.

He would show her his progress, knocking on the door and she would smile in encouragement. Smile that faded quickly as she turned around. She knew that he was putting up a similar facade: they were both trying to keep this as normal as possible but they both knew each other too well not to notice how strained was the other's attitude.

"JEMMAA.. PLEASE,DON'T... NOOO..!"

She choked back a sob as she heard him scream these words.

Leo was begging her.

Fitz never pleaded. He could be scared out of his mind but he wouldn't give in to his weaknesses.

He would put up a stubborn, denial face and retort with all he had but never admit his fear.

(_I'm not afraid... his voice echoed quietly in her head. __**How**__ could she lash out and tell him that he was afraid of going into the field? They never voiced out their fears and weaknesses: they just protected the other and helped overcome them. How __**could**__ she do that to him?_)

But today..

She had vented her frustrations on him, hurting him in the process as fear was overwhelming her and Fitz had lashed out on her. And they argued, fighting each other rather than the fear, until Leo voiced it out.

_('Cause I'm pretty sure that every minute of every day, you've been stuck in a lab right beside me. At the Academy, at Psy-ops, this plane.. You've been beside me the whole damn time! __And her angered fear disappeared as she looked at his face, replaced by icy dread._)

Their greatest fear: being separated. Being apart.

Emotions surged in her heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

'Why now?!' she inwardly screamed as she looked him. 'Why now and not days ago..? Weeks ago? Months or years ago?'

Why did fate play so cruelly with her, making her realize _this_ now when she was literally a step away from death?

She had been terrified when he entered the lab with the Chitauri helmet. She was determined to throw him out of the lab, literally if it was necessary but the look on his face, his stance, his words, just threw her off. (_I'm doing what we always do. We're going to fix this: together. She stared at him as he said this, an unknown warmth spreading through her for the first time._). He took charge and she followed, doing what she had to do. They were newly together and flawlessly made the anti-serum. She was distracted by her team-mates, pacing or anxiously looking at them, outside the lab. He didn't even notice them: he was focused on their work. Her life depended on it and he was giving it all he had. She knew him enough to understand that and fought back tears of gratitude more than once.

When he asked to be the one to test the anti-serum, she agreed with a weak, half smile: she owed him that much. And when the mouse didn't die, they shared a look. She smiled, gratitude and relief weren't enough to express her feelings. He smiled back, the calm smile that told her that everything was going to be all right.

But then the blue flash occurred...and it was over.

And now she was here. Winds billowing around her. Fitz screaming in front of her.

For a moment, she irrationally hoped that time would just stop.

It would allow her to say goodbye to her parents, apologize for not calling in months. It would allow her to say good bye to Skye and Agent Ward, May and Agent Coulson.

"JEMMAA..!"

Regret washed over her. What-ifs fogged her mind..

Maybe time might rewind.

It might take her back to their first meeting, to the moments they shared at the Academy, in their labs. She would be happy to be taken back to two days ago when they were teasing Agent Ward, mimicking him with Skye in the lab.

She wanted one moment to hold him without risking to infect him.

One more moment to tell him about her newest discovery. The one made in these past two hours.

One moment to explain how standing on this ramp had made it all clear.

She loved him. Her best friend and partner.

She loved Leo Fitz.

She looked at him, realizing that he would the last person she would ever see again.

She saw the tears, running down his face, matching her own.

'We are each other's Shield..' she thought and smiled. She wanted him to smile back: she wanted to have that image as her last memory.

"Leo..." she whispered.

And she stepped back.

* * *

Please, leave a review to tell me what you think about this..


	2. Chapter 2: Leo Fitz

First of all, thanks for the enormous response to this story. I'm beyond flattered and in awe. After three years of almost non-writing, seeing all these reviews and followers is great.

Thank you..

As for the story, it's turned into a three-shot. Off we go..and I hope you'll enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Agents of Shield. Neither Katy Perry's song Unconditionally.

* * *

_**Unconditionally**_

_Chapter 2: Leo Fitz_

-:-

_Come just as you are to me  
Don't need apologies  
Know that you are worthy  
I'll take your bad days with your good  
Walk through the storm I would  
I do it all because I love you, I love you_

_Unconditional, unconditionally_  
_I will love you unconditionally_  
_There is no fear now_  
_Let go and just be free_  
_I will love you unconditionally_

-:-

He was sure that his perception of time had been altered. He couldn't explain why everything -including himself- seemed to move slowly as he got up, reaching for the back of his neck where a dull ache sent shocks of pain through him. The lights seemed dimmer, the sounds more muted...

He lifted himself up, trying to bring some clarity about why he was on the ground in first place, muttering under his breath when a movement on the table caught his eye.

_Nothing_ should be moving on the table.

'Unless..' he realized.

He incredulously put a hand on the table to get up when he heard it.

A squeak.

The rat was _alive_.

-:-

(_We did it.. her voice came out as a whisper: a tone that finally had hope in it. It was her voice again. Her smile again. It was __**her**__ again. Not the shadow that he had seen until now.._)

His elation had matched hers as they looked at each other. He could see the gratitude and relief in her eyes. Her smile and clear eyes just warmed him to the core.

His relief was overwhelming. They hadn't given up although they had both almost surrendered at some point.

(_You have to fix this... His voice came out pleading.. Desperate. __And she looked at him through the panel with the same desperation in her eyes._

_I don't know how, Fitz... It __almost_ came out as an apology. An apology because she was confessing him the truth, voice cracking as she took pauses and deep breaths. There wasn't a solution and all her attempts were futile. _And she had known and had stringed him on.. She had made him hope..._)

Their carefully built facades of strength had crumbled and single tears fell from their eyes.

They knew each other enough to understand when the other was pretending. He knew that she had put up a strong face for his sake. He had done the same for her even though every cell of his body wanted to scream.

But then, when they had been on the verge of letting go, it happened again.

_They_ happened again.

(_..the Chitauri... their voices mingled together in perfect sync._)

He felt pride. Pride not for himself but for them. They had found the solution. The two of them. Together. As it had always been. And will be.

But then there was a flash of blue...and it all went numb.

He remembered snapping his head down, eyes staring at the rat. The rat was floating. He just kept staring at it...but it didn't stop floating.

His mind couldn't grasp what his eyes were seeing. They had found the solution! The anti-serum was there in his hand..!

Then why was that bloody lab rat floating?!

The silence around him was deafening.

"No..." he heard himself say. He moved forward to touch the glass box and his brain suddenly processed everything.

He was surrounded by silence and his mind quickly started to calculate a re-calibration of the anti-serum. He didn't know how much it took him: it could have been instants, seconds or whole minutes. He didn't know..

'First attempt: failure..but we're almost there..' he thought, walking towards the equipment (_their equipment.. It was their lab, never his. He'd never want it any other way.._)

"Try again.." he said, knowing that she was there next him, even though he couldn't strangely hear or feel her presence. "The electrostatic pulse from the third rat seemed much less so.. if.."

He felt his voice crack. Why?

"We're making progress..if we can.."

Words were not flowing out as usual. His heart was finally allowing his mind to grasp the whole situation. He felt his hands tremble.

"Calibrate...the.. anti-serum.."

He took a shaky breath.

"Anti-serum, yes.." she said, a hint of mirth in her tone.

She was finally there. A knot came to his throat and he didn't dare to turn around and just attached the anti-serum to the machinery.

"You finally got it right, Fitz..."

Her voice was laced with something he couldn't identify. And then he heard her whisper something that he couldn't grasp.

Then, it was a blast of pain and everything went black.

-:-

He kept staring at the live rat as he straightened up.

"Hey, it worked!" he exclaimed, hope flared up in him. She mustn't have noticed and he didn't hear around her. Where was she?

"The pulse just knocked the rat unconsci..ous.." his word faltered as he looked in front of him. There was a blinding light. He blinked and he made out a figure standing.

(_I'm so sorry... her whispered apology echoed in his head right before blacking out.)_

"Jemma..?" he said questioningly, standing up. His slight smile faltered as he stared at her. She was standing with her back to him, the light was blinding.

Why was there so much light in the Bus?

And then he saw that it wasn't light. It was the sky: he could make out the clear blue and whizzing white clouds.

The cargo ramp had been lowered.

Suddenly, he was hit by the sounds. The wind was roaring and he heard the distant sound of sirens.

It was as though someone had shocked him.

'She wouldn't...?'

"JEMMA!" he shouted.

He tugged on the lab's doors, desperation coursing through his veins. They weren't budging. Why the hell weren't these damn doors opening?!

She was swaying right at the edge of the ramp. Wisps of hair flew around her.

'No,no,no..God, no..'

"JEMMAA!"

She turned around and he saw her face. He saw her eyes and raw fear hit him.

"JEMMAA.. PLEASE,DON'T... NOOO..!"

She was giving up. She wanted to save them and was giving up on herself.

She was giving up on _him_.

Giving up on them..

(_Oh please, as if I forced you to follow me anywhere? Her sharp reply hit him harder than expected and he came up with a merciless mimic of her voice to counterattack. But he realized, in that very moment, that she didn't need to __**force**__ him to follow her. He would follow her anywhere anyway..._)

'Don't do it..don't go.. don't leave..'

"JEMMA.. NOOO!"

Time slowed down as he screamed her name again.

She stared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks just like on his own. Her eyes softened slightly and the look on her face was new to him.

It was new to him and he would never find out what it meant.

Despair flooded his mind.

Why didn't she trust him? Why didn't she believe that he -they, both of them- could find the anti-serum together?

Why was she doing this on her own?

'Don't leave me..'

She smiled. A smile that reached her tearful eyes. The smile that he had been graced with for years. The smile that he had learned to love but never admitted.

It was her last smile for him.

"JEMMAAA..!"

He screamed his anguish, hands clawing the doors as the realization that he was watching his best friend, partner and other half give her life away.

Time played with him again.

He watched her stand there and then disappear, swallowed by the winds the second later.

His brain went numb.

His voice echoed in the lab.

"JEMMAAA!"

For an instant, he was on the verge of giving up himself. He just stared at the void space in front of him. Space where she had stood.

But then his heart thumped painfully against his chest. Protesting for his lack of movement.

He had to do something. He had to find her. He had to save her.

She wasn't gone until he let her go himself.

With a final tug, he opened the lab's doors, the wind that had swept Jemma off, hitting him now.

His mind was in overdrive.

'Come on, come on.. It will be fine.. Just find Jemma..'

He stumbled back into the lab, removing the anti-serum with shaky hands, breath coming out in heavy, painful puffs and ran back out.

He stumbled to the parachutes and hastily took one. He kept muttering the mantra going in his head.

"It will be fine.. Find Jemma.."

He threw the parachute over his shoulder, struggling with the straps, ignoring the rational part of his mind that was screaming that he didn't even know how to _put_ a parachute on.

He only had to find her.

Then everything would be fine.

A thud on his side made him look up. Agent Ward was there and he seemed to have understood what had happened.

"The anti-serum worked!" he shouted nevertheless, through the noise. Ward ripped the delivery mechanism from his hands along with the parachute. He didn't even have time to stop him. "But she jumped!"

And Ward jumped down.

He stared at the sky below and above.

"And..I couldn't stop her.." he whispered to no one, stumbling back and hitting the lab's doors with his back. He slowly slid down to the ground.

"Find my Jemma... Bring her back to me.."

* * *

Please, leave a review to tell me what you think about this..


	3. Chapter 3: FitzSimmons

Wow..I've never written so much in a week. Ever. Getting so inspired to write is awesome and it's even better when I see all your response. Overwhelmed doesn't even cover how I feel now..

Thank you all..

So, this is the last chapter of this story.

I have to say that this has been the most emotionally invested story I have ever written.

I'm pretty sure that I've eviscerated and dissected episode 1x06 to every single line and screen shot: I sincerely hope that it wasn't too much of spoilers/lines and contents. I just have all these feelings and thoughts when I watch the episode and wanted to put them all down on a page.

Don't know if you guys feel the same but I still get my feelings in a jumble when I watch the 'Besides me the whole damn time'-'FitzSimmons making the anti-serum lab scenes': they're so powerful..The acting, the music, the words.. I can't get over them...

And don't even get me started about the cargo ramp scene..

Anyway, off we go with the last chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Agents of Shield. Neither Katy Perry's song Unconditionally.

* * *

_**Unconditionally**_

_Chapter 3: FitzSimmons_

-:-

_So open up your heart and just let it begin  
Open up your heart and just let it begin  
Open up your heart and just let it begin_  
_Open up your heart_

_Acceptance is the key to be_  
_To be truly free_  
_Will you do the same for me?_

_Unconditional, unconditionally_  
_I will love you unconditionally_  
_And there is no fear now_  
_Let go and just be free_  
_'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah)_  
_I will love you (unconditionally)_  
_I will love you_  
_I will love you unconditionally_

_-:-_

Her arms and legs were flailing and she found herself rotating as she fell down.

Down, down...down. How long had she been falling?

Her mind was registering events slowly; in other circumstances, it would have been a full overdrive of information. She would have mused about this first-hand experience of Newton's gravitational theory, of the seemingly lack of friction of her body fending through the air while there was actually some. Or just the fact that she was, literally, flying.

Her voice came out weak: the force that was pushing her down was compressing her lungs.

Or was it just plain fear?

How long before the impact?

What would happen first? The electrostatic pulse or the crash into the sea waters after a hundreds thousands meters downfall?

What was going to kill her first?

She didn't know why she wasn't feeling terrified about her imminent death. Her mind felt strangely clear and her heart..

Her heart was thumping, savoring its last moments of activity.

She closed her eyes for a moment and his face appeared. She heard his voice among the winds.

Her heart thumped faster, accusing her of leaving him alone. Regret and guilt mingled together.

'It was the only thing to do...'

She wouldn't let him die. Not with her. She wanted him to live. Without her, yes.. Alone and maybe haunted, yes.. But alive and breathing.

She was selfish enough to decide for him. Once more.

'Leo..'

Her eyes opened, tears leaking out and flying away in the wind.

And then she saw something coming straight towards her. From above.

-:-

One hour. Sixty minutes. Three-thousand six-hundred seconds after she jumped.

He counted to keep his mind at ease.

It took them one hour to reach land. And he still didn't know if Ward had found her.

Agent Coulson, May and Skye had rushed down the stairs, moments after Ward had dived down and he had forced himself to get up and explain what had happened.

Coulson and May had rushed upstairs to call every territorial official they knew, national and international, to put up a rescue party in the Atlantic.

Skye lingered a moment before going after them. She looked at him.

"He'll find her, Fitz." she said, smiling -more like grimacing with her lips turned up- "No.. Surely, Ward must have already found her and saved her. They'll both be ok."

He looked at her.

Had it been only two days ago that he had attempted to flirt -rather pathetically, he admitted- with her? When he showed her understanding for her situation with Ward? When he fought the mild wave of annoyance towards the tall, broody agent?

Two days ago, he had minimized his relationship with Jemma, brushing off the 'psychic link' Skye told they had with a shrug. He was too busy savoring the small victory of her talking and laughing with him to care about anything else.

He had minimized _them_.

'I'm a bloody idiot..' he realized.

He nodded at Skye, not trusting his voice to even agree with her. He managed a small smile and she seemed convinced by it because she smiled, a bit more broadly now, and went upstairs.

He watched her disappear from sight and his lips formed a straight line.

Jemma would have seen through his smile right away.

She would have known that he was pretending. She wouldn't have left until he spoke about it, even if it meant waiting for hours, talking about random topics or staying in silence.

They knew each other enough to know when something bothered the other. It was a silent agreement they made to never question the other but wait, patiently, for the other to open up and talk. They had a small part of themselves that was reserved and private and they both respected that. They shared so much with each other that having that small sphere of thoughts sacred for themselves was completely fine.

But now he wondered if it was really fine..

(_Then __**you**__ had to go and drag us into this flying circus! He burst out, voicing something that wasn't even related to the delivery machine or it's wrong calibration as she accused him. His nerves were too strained. Just like hers. Being rational wasn't contemplated.._)

He wondered if hiding their most secret thoughts and fears from each other, hadn't just brought to this situation..

(_I'm not afraid... He was lying, he knew it and she knew it too. This sudden, desperate, anger fueled him. Why was she talking about __**this**__ now?! Why ask __**him**__ about being afraid while it should be the reverse? Him asking her? Why was __**she**__ always the brave one to start these confrontations?_)

To them not understanding each other. Completely.

His head snapped up when he heard the ramp being pulled up. He watched the sky disappear slowly. The same sky that had made her disappear in front of his eyes.

Darkness surrounded him. The sirens had disabled all the lights except the emergency ones.

The only source of light came from the inside of the lab, above the main monitor.

He turned around and dread filled his body.

He never thought that he could be afraid of entering the only place where he felt sure of himself. The place where there weren't judging people and awkward looks when he spoke of machines and prototypes.

Without Jemma there working, standing or simply sitting without doing anything, it just felt foreign.

Unfamiliar.

Without her talking to him about her discoveries and studies, how he could he work? How could he do anything in any lab -yet alone _their_ lab- if she wasn't there by his side?

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

How could he do _anything_ without her by his side?

He depended on her. Too much, he knew that, but it had always been like that.

It was like this ever since he stopped being only Fitz and part of FitzSimmons. The perfect partnership. The scientists for this selected team of Shield agents. The ones that gave a rational answer and solution to all the irrational aspects of this work.

But Fitz alone..? What could he do?

He would answer half of the questions, waiting for another to answer the rest. He would make deductions that no one would complete. He would be alone.

Out of place in his sacred place, the lab.

Out of place in the unknown, the field.

"_We are each other's Shield."_

He had taken that mutual promise for granted. An ever persistent condition.

He had taken Jemma's presence beside him for granted.

He slid down against the lab's glass doors again. He sat down with his head in his hands and waited.

It was the only thing he could do.

'Jemma...'

-:-

When the Bus was going to land, he forced himself to go upstairs. He couldn't bear to see the cargo ramp open...and see her fall all over again.

His remaining team mates were all gathered in the meeting room, in silence and waiting for a call.

Agent Coulson informed him that they were flying over North Africa when the ramp opened (_When Jemma jumped..._) and they had begrudgingly got the help of the Moroccan and Tunisian offices. Boats had been sent along with helicopters to retrieve the two.

There was a confidence in his voice, a certainty that they were alive -that the _two_ of them were alive- that almost made him laugh and cry at the same time.

Skye was checking every website and page on the Internet to see if some random boat, ship or naval transport had found them.

May stood by the screen, monitoring the auto-pilot before she had to take her place in the cockpit. As she moved to leave, she looked at him.

He blinked, unsure whether to keep the gaze or drop it. Their interactions have always been minimal and reserved to missions.

Was she expecting him to loose it? He knew that she thought he was weak. She probably saw his uncertainty more than anyone else. He still recalled her statement during their first mission.

_"If you're going to be in the Field, Agent Fitz, you have to get your hands dirty.."_

He had retorted arrogantly, starting his bots and getting them to the work but deep down, he knew that she was right. He just didn't want to admit it.

May looked at him, expression blank and unreadable as always but her eyes seemed to soften for an instant and then she turned and left the room.

She probably understood what he was feeling, being a SHIELD veteran and all...

He realized that she was giving him a long-time advice back then. Being a Field-agent meant to be strong both body and mind. He was green on both sides..

He kept standing by the screen, watching the maps. He felt the Bus start the landing as he concentrated on the spot where Jemma must have fallen. He wondered what she must have thought during the fall, a thousands meters plunge into air and then water.

He took a deep breath as the very vivid mental image came to his mind, making his heart thump again. Tendrils of fear laced his brain. Uncertainty doused him.

He realized that if he had been in Ward's place, he would have risked to not save her.

He could have panicked mid-air.

He might have misused the parachute.

He might have let Jemma die in front of him.

He started to count again. He had to keep his mind busy since he didn't have anyone that would talk him out of his thoughts.

One.

Two.

.

.

.

One hour, forty-seven minutes and thirteen seconds after she jumped.

They found them. Both. Alive.

-:-

She woke up with a start, after dreams of floating then plummeting down at full speed. With eyes wide open, she gasped for air for a moment and then took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat.

It was only then that realization hit her.

Jumping from the Bus.

Leo screaming.

Falling through the sky.

Agent Ward reaching her.

A sting of pain. An electrostatic pulse.

Her heart still beating.

Floating slowly with Ward holding her.

Plunging into cold, salty water.

Bobbing to stay up as exhaustion took over.

A voice telling her that he got her.

Then, it was blank.

She was alive. So the anti-serum had worked.

(_It's all right: everything's going to be fine.. He was trying to calm her down but she irritably snapped at him, her nerves having the best on her._)

She looked around, studying her surroundings. She was lying in a cot in a military plane; it was fairly empty and small.

'It's not a Shield plane though..'

"Don't worry. These officials have been sent by Agent Coulson as our rescue team."

She looked to her right and saw Agent Ward, standing in the corner, next to the only porthole on the plane. He looked the same as always: firm stance, unreadable expression and all. And then she noticed how his eyes seemed to soften for a moment as he looked at her and that he was soaked in water.

It took her a moment to realize that she was drenched too.

"They don't have much in here." he said, approaching her, "You passed out while we were in the ocean and that cot was was the only thing they had. No towels, blankets or anything."

"It's enough.." she whispered, looking up at him. "I wasn't really expecting...anything."

Ward looked at her.

"We're heading to the Bus: we should be there in a couple of hours."

She nodded, heartbeat increasing suddenly. Regret and guilt washed through her again.

'Leo..'

The anti-serum they had made had worked.

How could she even look at him now? After having put him through all of this..?

"A-All right." she said.

"HQ told to set up a medical ward to check our values. Once we're cleared, we will be free to reach our team."

She nodded again and stared at him. Her mind started to quickly check his conditions. He seemed fine, without any of the symptoms that she and the firefighters had had.

"I'm fine." he confirmed. "And you seem better too.. Though I think that you should rest."

"No.." she said, trying to get up but her limbs didn't seem to want to cooperate. She felt a heavy tiredness pin her down.

"I insist, Simmons. You have been under a great..pressure today. Rest."

She almost smiled at that. Trust Ward to describe nearly dying as a great pressure.

"All right." she replied. "Thank you, Agent Ward." He looked at her. "You saved my life, risking yours."

"I could say the same, Simmons. You saved the whole team's life, risking yours."

She smiled slightly.

"Good thing that you knew how to sky-dive then?"

Ward's lips curled slightly, making his features less stony for a moment.

"You probably should know: Fitz was on his way to jump after you."

Her eyes widened. Her heartbeat rate increased.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"He was struggling with the straps when I got at the ramp. He had the cure in his hand and was ready to jump."

She looked at him without really seeing him. Leo was going to dive after her?

Ward stared at her before turning around and walking to the porthole again.

"Rest, Simmons." It came out almost as an order.

And she obeyed, lying on the cot.

But sleep wouldn't come.

Leo was going to dive after her. He wanted to save her.

(_Are you sure you don't need my help..just..to..? He wanted to help her. She could read it on his face that he wanted to do something for her rather than stand and watch. A part of her wanted to cry for his efforts but the other was loosing it's calm. She accused his device of being incorrectly measured. His hurt voice tore her heart but she lashed out at him. __**Why**__ was she blaming him?_)

Leo who had been screaming her name, pleading her to not jump, was going to follow her.

He that had barely passed the physical examination of their Agent's training. Examination that they had taken to enter their current team.

It had been truthfully her idea to get into Coulson's team: that decision brought both into it.

She blinked back tears as she recalled how she had angrily pointed out that he was afraid. His empty stare and answer hit her like a slap on the face because she knew that she had hurt him deeply and she ignored it. He retorted with a lie to cover up his true fears but she mercilessly dug in.

She had exposed his fears and yet...he helped her. The anti-serum that they made together had saved her life.

He saved her.

Her heart thumped painfully as she closed her eyes.

(_We're going to fix this. Together.)_

'Leo...'

-:-

The Bus was currently stationed in a classified location that he couldn't recall. He couldn't care less right now. The plane had landed.

Agent Coulson was out talking with HQ officials near the temporary medical ward, probably explaining the whole situation. The HQ agents weren't very tolerant towards them and didn't seem to want to listen at them.

They had raised a plastic-pane tunnel that connected the plane to the ward, to avoid any exposition.

'There's no danger of infection..' he thought, 'Why don't they believe her theory?'

He and May were standing near the Bus, by the lowered ramp, a dozen of meters away from the tunnel. Skye was inside: sitting near Lola so she could catch a glimpse of the outside. There were Shield officials that didn't trust her here and Coulson had asked her to bear with the situation and stay away. She had, rather gracefully, accepted, understanding the circumstances.

There were agents with rifles standing at the sides of the tunnel and all the Team had been asked to stay away from the area.

He looked at the plane as it's door opened. He saw agents, medics probably, in quarantine suits escort Agent Ward to the tunnel. His team mate walked briskly, no sign of visible injury on him.

He had actually breathed in relief: he owed Ward more than he could ever imagine.

And then he saw her.

_(Cause I'm pretty sure that every minute of every day, you've been stuck in a lab right beside me.. He meant to be taunting after she referred to his life as pasty. He didn't mean to be so honest..vulnerable..)_

His heart thumped in his chest and he took off before even realizing what he was doing. He vaguely heard the HQ agents telling him to stop and then he heard May's voice. Sternly addressed to them.

Some part of him was actually sorry for those agents who were dealing first-hand with the Cavalry herself but he didn't bother too much. He just rushed to the tunnel and stopped at the panel.

She walked slowly, wrapping herself in a blanket the HQ agents had provided her. She walked behind them, vaguely aware of her surroundings. She saw the outline of the Bus on her right.

Suddenly a movement caught her eye and she saw him.

_(''At the Academy, at Sci-Ops, this plane.. Her anger faded as his words started to sink in. She stared at him: his eyes were blazing, his tone was conceited and he moved his hands in front of him as he usually did when he wanted to prove a point. This could be the last time she ever saw him do this...)_

She rushed to the panel on her right and he was there, standing on the other side.

_(You've been beside me the whole damn time! They fell silent, anger long faded. The implication of his words hit them both. Hard. They stared at each other, automatically searching into the other's eyes for another answer, another solution.. but there wasn't. She tore her gaze away from him when she felt tears welling in her eyes. He stepped back, gazed fixed on her, tears coming up at last..)_

He felt his heart thump mercilessly in his chest as he looked at her. These emotions were strong, raw and solely reverted to her: the emotions that he had ignored and barely acknowledged for too long. It had taken him too long to understand.. Almost loosing her to realize.

He loved her.

His partner, his best friend.. his other half.

He put a hand on the panel, struggling to keep his voice steady and blinking away the tears.

"Don't you dare to that again." he said slowly, "_Ever again_."

She looked at him with glassy eyes and nodded. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears along with his voice. She looked at his face and saw a look that she couldn't identify. He never looked at her that way. His eyes were boring into hers.

"I'm so sorry.." she said softly, voice cracking at the end. She saw him blink and knew that he was fighting tears as well. She put her hand on the same spot where his hand was.

They looked at each other through the pane, eyes watery and stares wavering between their faces and their hands. They both knew that something had shifted in their relationship. They just didn't know how to deal with it, express it..

"It's either both..or neither.. We're each other's Shield, remember.?" he whispered and her eyes widened. "Don't take decisions like that on your own. It will always be me and you deciding, all right? Together."

She nodded, tears falling down her face.

The agents called her and she stepped back reluctantly. He did the same.

"See you later." she said, managing a small smile. A real one.

"See you later.." he replied, smiling slightly as well.

He waited till she disappeared into the medic ward and turned to the Bus.

Three hours, 58 minutes, 36 seconds since she jumped.

It was _them_ again.

-:-

Coulson sent him inside to his bunk as he neared the Bus. He wasn't reprimanded but just sent away to rest after a rather demanding day. May looked at him as he walked by, a ghost of a smile on her face.

Defining this day demanding was an understatement.

He sat in his bed, sleep a far fetched achievement at the moment. He took the pillow in his arms.

Seeing Jemma had made everything so clear.

His feelings for her but also his uncertainties. He told her to never take any decision on her own because it was something that they had to do together.

But what if another situation like today's occurred again? What if she had to take the decision of risking her life to save the others?

He knew her enough to know that she would never allow others to be hurt in her place. She was loyal and brave like that.

Then what was _he_ supposed to do? Risk loosing her again?

He squeezed the pillow tightly.

He never wanted to live a moment like that again. Ever.

He had to overcome whatever fear he had. He had to be worthy for her. Protect her.

He had to.

-:-

After being reprimanded by Coulson, pleasantly surprised by Ward mimicking himself and tackle hugged by Skye, she felt that her team was becoming more and more as her family.

Halfway to the doorway, she saw May.

"Hello, May." she said with a smile. The older woman actually smiled at her.

"It's good to see you, Simmons." she said softly.

"It's good to be here." She tugged at her sleeve. "Have you seen Fitz? I haven't seen him anywhere.."

"Coulson sent him to rest but he's not doing it." May answered. "He just staring at his bunk's wall." She looked at her. "The day has taken quite a toll on both of you."

"Y-yes." she said, concern washing through her. "I'll just go and see him."

May nodded and walked on. She took off for his bunk.

-:-

"And I was going to do it.."

"I know you were." she replied, looking at him with a smile. She was sure that he would have jumped to save her. She was both elated and terrified of this.

He was staring in front of him as though reliving the moment. Her heart constricted as she saw his fingers delving into the pillow, clutching it.

He did that only when he was concerned for something. Worried. But he wasn't allowing her to ask.

"I had the anti-serum and the chute.. Everything.. I-I just couldn't get-" he mimicked putting the parachute on.

"Fitz, please.." she tried to interrupt him.

"-the straps on." He kept looking in front of him. "Maybe I could have done the whole James Bond in mid-air.."

She watched as his eyes clouded slightly. He wasn't convinced about himself but kept on rambling. She felt the sudden urge to hold him. The need to touch him and let him know that she was there for him. But would he accept it? Accept her?

"Fitz, shut up!"

"-type.." She reached out for him but stopped midway. He noticed this because he faltered in his sentence. "-thing."

"Please."

She moved her hands to her own face rather than his. She opted for a safer option. Words.

She could always talk him out of these moods.

"Ward did an amazing thing, yes." she conceded and watched how his eyes were still clouded. "But it wasn't Ward by my side in the lab, searching for a cure."

She looked at him. Her eyes softened as she recalled his words when got inside the lab with the helmet, his firmness and focus in getting the anti-serum done.

"It wasn't him giving me hope when I had none." she said softly, trying to convey her feelings of gratitude in her words. "It was you."

He was looking down, playing with his hands. She felt her heart constrict again.

She softly nudged his elbow with her own.

"You're the hero." she confessed.

He looked up. His blue eyes were still clouded but he smiled slightly.

"Yeah.." he said with a small nod.

She smiled back, hoping to dispel his uncertainties.

"Yeah.." she repeated firmly, holding his stare. He was her hero. The only one. "Thank you."

He smiled and looked away again.

She knew that he was pretending that everything was all right. She knew that something was bothering him but she didn't know if he would allow her to pry and ask now.

She moved forward and softly kissed on the cheek, hoping to convey her gratitude for saving her, her relief for having him in her life. Her love.

She got up, brushing a hand on his leg to announce her leave. He nodded slightly and their eyes met again.

They both knew that their relationship had shifted. It's weight and importance had changed and it was now trying to find a new balance. They were aware of this.

They both knew that the other was hiding something: fear, uncertainty, feelings.. It was an uncharted territory for them.

They had been granted time. It could have all ended today.

The gratefulness for having time together, allowed them to not think about the uncertainty that they would come across at some point.

They were still FitzSimmons. For now, that's all that mattered.

* * *

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